Chapter 398: Battling the Berserk Great Hero
A father's cooking is full of masculine spirit—generous portions and bold flavors. It's spicy hot pot, oden, pan-fried meat buns, grilled meat, and braised dishes. Sometimes it is as violent as a thunderclap, and other times it possesses the reliability that encompasses everything, expressing his love for his family in a bold and hearty way.
A mother's cooking is a gentle, flowing melody. Spicy meat dishes that serve as the highlight are merely ornaments for the everyday. The truly amazing parts are the simple home-cooked meals, making various patterns out of limited ingredients. Even the most ordinary plate of vegetables, despite being eaten frequently, never feels tiresome.
"Come to think of it, Gudako, who is this 'mother's taste' cook you're talking about?" Rin Tohsaka realized she was speechless and could only ask.
"Hmm..." Gudako looked at Shirou to the side. Although he was slightly different, it was definitely the same person.
Rin stared blankly at Shirou.
The soft, delicate part of the girl's heart was struck down. She knelt on the ground with her hands supporting her, muttering in depression: "Lost! Lost again! I lost in terms of feminine charm! Is it really my fault for focusing on martial arts and letting my cooking skills slide?"
"Well, it's just because I have more opportunities to cook," Shirou said, smiling to comfort the black-haired girl. After all, the girl had lived alone since her rebirth, while he hadn't been idle in this life either—there were elders and children at home waiting to be fed, all waiting for him to cook every day. Truly delicious food requires the presence of someone you genuinely want to taste the deliciousness.
"Damn it... I will definitely practice my cooking hard, surpass you, and then have another bowl!" Rin gritted her teeth, raised her bowl, and said.
"Sure." Shirou smiled as he took the bowl and added another serving for the girl.
"Speaking of which, are there no other people in this world? Kiritsugu... the owner of this mansion, do you have any news about him?" Shirou asked.
"He lived a few years longer than in our original world, passing away two years ago," Rin said.
"Is that so?" Shirou nodded, looking around the dining room and then toward the veranda in the backyard, answering softly.
Rin continued: "The people involved in the previous Holy Grail War have basically disappeared. Sakura is not in this world, and the Matou family has completely declined. Saegusa and Fujimura-sensei are at school. Do you want to see Fujimura-sensei? To you, she's like an older sister, right? But I'll warn you, she doesn't have memories of you."
Shirou shook his head: "No, this is fine. Fujimura-neesan must be living a happy life every day, and there is nothing better than that."
"Ah! By the way, I bought this place, so it's the Tohsaka Residence now. And since I was reborn here, I've run to the park built in Fuyuki several times. It doesn't seem like the fire affected much; most of the apartment buildings were preserved. I couldn't find you, though. Otherwise, if I had picked you up, shouldn't you be called 'Shirou Tohsaka' now?! It's a little regretful," Rin said, staring straight into Shirou's eyes and teasing him.
"..." Shirou remained silent for a while, filled with emotion, then looked at the girl and said with a sincere smile: "Thank you, Rin."
Rin, who had intended to tease him, received an unexpected reaction from the boy. She suddenly flushed red and said: "Wh... what is that! What kind of reaction is that? Don't you know I'm teasing you?! It's because you're like this, so..."
"Yes, yes, thank you for the meal. I'm full," Gudako said, putting down her bowl and pressing her hands together in gratitude.
Under Rin's lead, the group arrived at the area where the Berserker was active.
"Be careful, this is that incredibly strong Berserker!" Rin warned.
Shirou looked at the black giant. No matter which world-line he was in, as long as he participated in the Fifth Holy Grail War, this monster had caused him and Saber immense suffering, forcing them to flee wounded, and filled with oppressive terror. But now, facing this monster head-on, Shirou felt no ripples in his heart. He would always hold a respect for that great hero who died protecting Illya.
"However... a Berserker controlled by black aura is no longer to be feared!" Shirou said, walking forward, projecting his decisive weapons. "HAAAH!!!—Nine Lives Blade Works!!!"
"ROOOOAAAR!!!" The giant monster glared with red pupils. Seeing the golden battle axe cleaving toward his face, he showed a slight flash of surprise, but it was fleeting.
Heracles, son of Zeus, King of the Gods. A powerhouse who could fight the God of War face-to-face in his lifetime, he is the acknowledged strongest of all Greek heroes! In the entire Greek epic, he is the only one who can be said to have achieved the image of invincibility. Although his end was a tragedy, he ascended to the heavens after death and became a god.
When he was born, his mother, fearing Hera's jealous revenge, placed him in the fields. By a quirk of fate, he was picked up by the passing Queen of Heaven, Hera, and breastfed, thereby activating his demigod bloodline and revealing astonishing talent. As an infant, he could crush venomous snakes sent by Hera to kill him with one hand, playing with them at will. As he grew, he learned various martial arts, riding, and arts from Chiron and other renowned masters.
In adulthood, relying on his innate giant strength, he honed exquisite martial arts through trials and battlefields. He was heroic, witty, and just, but also had a reckless and overbearing
side; yet, he was hearty and loyal to his friends. He spent his life killing monsters that harmed people, suppressing bandits and bullies, and following the orders of kings.
This immortal body represented the god-certified great deeds of Heracles, the most famous great hero of Greece, praising his monumental achievements in completing the Twelve Labors. When it became a Noble Phantasm, it granted him tenacious endurance in prolonged battles. After being killed by a type of attack, he would revive, developing substantial resistance to that previous method of attack, making it almost impossible to kill him the same way again. And each time he died, he became stronger due to his resistance-based defense and accumulated magical energy.
In terms of Noble Phantasm battles, among the many descended Servants with various miraculous effects, there was only one instance where this great hero was killed in a single strike. That was King David's Ark of the Covenant, which ignored rules, directly absorbed all the magical energy of the one who touched it, and carried away his soul.
Among the many Noble Phantasm battles, besides the King of Heroes, there was one other person who could achieve this: Shirou!
The golden battle axe, at a speed surpassing that of stone weapons, cleaved Heracles' face in two. In his past life, they faced a great hero fighting to protect Illya, but now, he was just a monster destroying everything. Having a belief and not having one were two different things.
Shirou's offensive did not stop!
The moment Heracles' body finished repairing, Shirou projected two bladed spears, crossed them to slash the opponent's neck, then turned the spearheads toward the great hero's heart, once again unleashing a strike from his specialized Reality Marble.
Then...
—Rhongomyniad! Anchor!!! —Caliburn!!! —Unlimited Blade Works (Broken Phantasm)!!! —Triple-Linked Crane Wings!!!
The four black-and-white blades flew out, piercing into Heracles, causing him to crash to the ground.
"For now, I've killed him six times!" Shirou put away his black-and-white blades and said softly.
"Mm... mm..." Rin stared at Shirou, stunned, wanting to say something but unable to speak.
"So strong! Cool! Shirou-senpai! That's what Rin-senpai is saying, you know~!" Gudako, being understanding, put her hands to her mouth and shouted as if using an amplifier.
"I'm not!" Rin blushed as she looked at Gudako, then at Shirou to explain, but suddenly her expression changed and she shouted: "Watch out!"
At this moment, the violent black aura erupted, centering on the giant body that was larger than a hill, swirling into a black hurricane that blew Shirou, who was trying to get close, straight away.
"ROOOOAAAR!!!" The monster roared wildly, glaring at the boy, taking steps to charge. At this moment, he would no longer allow himself to be killed by Shirou so easily.
Rin maneuvered her Sky Ship to fly rapidly into the sky, opened her arms to catch Shirou, who was flying backward, held him in her embrace, and looked down, teasing: "I guess you're at your limit, huh?"
Shirou's face flushed red, and he said somewhat embarrassed: "That was just carelessness; the battle has only just begun."
Rin set Shirou down, took out a handful of gems, and said with determination: "Next, watch me!"
Rin dodged an axe, swept her leg in a direct attack at the black giant's lower stance, even though the giant's muscles felt like steel. The girl gritted her teeth, raised her fist, and swung repeatedly, strike after strike, hitting the front of Heracles' steel body.
Bang! Inside the giant, a sound of something bursting echoed.
Rin waved her red hands. Relying on the fist and palm strikes of Baji Quan, she first used a hidden force to shatter his heart meridians, then used raw power to cave in his chest, letting the broken bones pierce his heart—killing Heracles twice in a row.
Then Rin summoned the Sky Ship and flew straight into the sky. She activated her Noble Phantasm, concentrating the energy representing the Venus she ruled in her internal world into an arrow of light, shooting straight at Heracles. The moment the light arrow touched the ground, it exploded, and the world was covered in a powerful white light. The black giant directly hit was shrouded in the screen of light.
"ROOOOAAAR!!!" Blue veins bulged on the black giant's forehead. He opened his massive jaws and roared, the sound wave like a sonic boom that made ears ache. The surroundings suffered a sonic blast, and Shirou and Rin were blown away.
"Can't you just project Excalibur and finish it all at once like last time!" Rin complained.
Shirou said: "That was when I was with Saber, and the scabbard provided us with an amplification of abilities, along with all sorts of coincidental factors—it was a miracle that can't be replicated."
"But I've become stronger than I was back then!" Shirou said, activating his Projection Magecraft again. In one hand, he projected a spiral-drill-shaped holy sword, and in the other, he gripped a crimson, thorny spear.
"—Caladbolg!"
A light pillar of seven-colored rainbows unfolded from the sword, as if cleaving the black giant. At this moment, even the space around Heracles was torn. The blackened great hero didn't even have time to make a sound before his upper body was completely swallowed by the rainbow light.
However, God Hand was still running; black aura was continuously pouring in, to the point where the magical channels in the giant's body were malfunctioning, as if they were inexhaustible. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before the great hero's Noble Phantasm usage count would likely be refilled and activated again.
Only the lower half of his body remained; spirit particles of magical energy dissipated, and the flesh surged like insects, soon restoring to a complete state. His red eyes flickered with fierce light, as if intending to charge forward and tear Shirou to pieces.
A body as huge as a mountain, yet with the swift speed of a cheetah—in an instant, the berserk great hero halved the distance between him and Shirou.
But Shirou was prepared. He raised his right hand high and shouted the command to activate his Noble Phantasm: "—Gáe Bolg!!"
A crimson meteor flew out, and in a single breath, it pierced Heracles' chest, the demonic spear directly skewering the great hero's heart.
Heracles ignored the demonic spear, reactivated his Noble Phantasm, rebuilt his body, continued to charge forward, and raised his weapon high, swearing to smash Shirou's head with the stone axe in his hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy footsteps sounded on the ground, his steel-like feet carving cracks into the earth, his speed constantly increasing. At this moment, the distance between Heracles and Shirou was less than two meters, and the massive axe blade had turned into a black shadow, already looming over the boy's head.
"HAAH!!!" At this moment, Rin flew into the air, making a flying kick straight at Heracles' head. In that instant, the girl activated three A-rank magical gems, pouring the reinforcement into her right foot. Her golden battle boots shone with the light of Venus.
The blackened great hero's head shattered directly!
His tall body crashed to the ground, turning into fine particles, and dissipated bit by bit under the sunset.
The great battle finally came to an end.
"Rin, what do you plan to do after this Holy Grail War ends?" Shirou asked, watching the sunset.
Rin said: "After this, I'll probably still go to London. Although Fuyuki has changed, London seems to be the same. After all, I've already done all the training I could do in Fuyuki. If I want to go further, besides finding the Great Teacher, only that Lord El-Melloi II can give me guidance. Besides, even if I stay in Fuyuki, there's no one home to keep me company."
"Lord El-Melloi II, that teacher is indeed amazing!" Shirou nodded and said. Shirou was no stranger to Lord El-Melloi II; after all, in a certain world, he had acted as a gravekeeper for the male King Arthur, joined his school, and served as his attendant and bodyguard. That teacher was indeed a responsible mentor.
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